Bhubaneshwar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, describing it as an important step towards strengthening India’s institutional and technological capabilities.
“With the blessings of Mahaprabhu, today Bhubaneswar is giving a new institution to New India,” he said, congratulating the RBI and those associated with the project.
PM Modi highlighted the government’s focus on balanced development, saying governance aimed to expand opportunities across cities, towns and villages and ensure benefits reached the last person. He recalled that smaller towns and remote areas had long faced challenges involving roads, electricity, water, healthcare and connectivity.
He cited the expansion of expressways, AIIMS institutions, medical colleges and nearly 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in villages as examples of development reaching more people.
Turning to banking, the Prime Minister said more than half of India’s population remained outside the banking ecosystem until 2014. He criticised the earlier system of “phone banking”, alleging that influential individuals close to the Congress secured loans worth thousands of crores through phone calls, contributing to the banking sector’s non-performing assets (NPAs).
He said the Digital India initiative had expanded access to financial services, adding that nearly 59 to 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts had been opened nationwide. He also highlighted the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which he said had enabled 13 crore people to become entrepreneurs for the first time, and the PM SVANidhi scheme for street vendors.
The Prime Minister noted that the PM Vishwakarma scheme had connected traditional artisans with banks, while self-help groups comprising 10 crore rural women had received assistance worth thousands of crores of rupees.
Highlighting social security, PM Modi said nine crore people had received coverage under the Atal Pension Yojana, including 38 lakh in Odisha. He also cited the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, offering accident insurance cover of up to Rs 2 lakh for an annual premium of Rs 20, and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, providing life insurance coverage at an annual premium of less than Rs 450.
He said the new RBI facilities would benefit Odisha and the country.
